The Nightmare of my Life
by SpanishMonkeys
Summary: Let's say that me and my friends Lexi and Kelsey make a GREAT Lock, Shock, and Barrel.
1. Chapter 1 Do sleepovers always go wrong?

"So it's settled, then," I said. I was talking on phone to my friends, Lexis and Kelsey.

"Yup," Kelsey said cheerfully.

"See you tomorrow," Lexi chirped. We all said goodbye and hung up.

The clock read 9:30, and I was tired so I got ready for bed. I was trying my hardest, but I couldn't wait until tomorrow. Kelsey and Lexi were coming over for a sleepover! We were going to stay up really late, watch a million movies, and stuff ourselves with popcorn. Finally, I fell asleep.

Saturday felt like a thousand years. The clock was going 12 times slower than it usually was. It was… TORTURE!

As slow as it was, the time finally came. There was a knock at the door, and I zipped downstairs and yanked open the door. Lexis and Kelsey stood on the step, with their stuff piled in their arms.

"Sandy Harbrough, at your service," I joked. My two friends smiled.

"My, what a beautiful afternoon," Lexi commented, talking with British accent.

"Indeed, Lady Dark," I replied, going British as well.

"Where may we place our luggage?" Kelsey asked, also British.

"You may put your belongings in my quarters, Miss Chace." I replied.

"So, where are your parents?" Lexi asked, going back to normal.

"Oh, they're on a business trip and won't be back for a week."

"Now we can butcher chickens!" Kelsey yelled. Lexis and I stared at her.

"Yeah..." I said.

"She's odd that way."

"You don't say," I glared at Lexi. We sat in silence for a few minutes.

"FUZZY LLAMAS!" I shouted. We all busted in to laughter. After the giggles subsided, I glanced at the clock. It read 9:22.

"Let's watch a movie," Lexi suggested. We all nodded in agreement.

"DIBS NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS!" I yelled.

"Fine, but you don't have to shout," Lexi said.

"I HAVE TO!"

"Why?"

"BECAUSE FLYING NINJAS WILL COME AND TAKE ME AWAY! AWAAAAYYYY!"

"And why don't you want flying ninjas to come and take you way?" Kelsey asked.

"CAUSE PIRATE TRUMPS NINJA!" I answered. Lexi and Kelsey groaned.

"Not another Jack Sparrow kick," Lexi sighed.

"CAPTAIN!" I corrected.

We watched the entire movie in silence. Except for me, who was singing all songs. When the movie was over, I flicked on the lights.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" I shouted.

"STOP YELLING!" Lexi exclaimed.

"Okay," I said. Lexis sighed.

"Hallelujah!" Kelsey said.

"What's this?" I asked, looking at the TV.

"A black screen," Lexi answered.

"NOT ANYMORE!" Kelsey shrieked as the screen lit up with a bright, white light. We felt an invisible force pull us toward the TV. We all grasped onto the couch for our dear lives. But the force was too great. Lexi, Kelsey and I got sucked into the TV.

Then we hit our backs dead leaves, cushioning our fall.

Dazed, I opened my eyes.

"Oh my God!" I exclaimed. "We're in Halloween Town!"


	2. Chapter 2 Oogie Boogie

"You sound weird," said Kelsey, sitting up.

"You do too, retorted Lexi.

"We'll all do! But I wonder why?" I said. My eyes widened once I got a good look at everything.

"I SEE LOCK AND SHOCK!" I shouted.

"I SEE LOCK BARREL!" Kelsey shrieked.

"I SEE SHOCK AND BARREL!" Lexi yelled. Looking down at myself, I saw I was wearing a skeleton costume. The mask to go with it was lying at my feet. I put it on my face and roared. My two companions laughed. _Oh great,_ I thought. _Now I'm a 5-year-old male with deformed feet. _I wiggled my 6 pointed toes and looked up.

Kelsey was whacking Lexi with her witch mask, whilst Lexi was trying not to mess up her flaming red hair, gelled to look like devil horns. I laughed at the sight.

"Not only do we look like them, we're also starting to act like them!" I exclaimed. Lexi and Kelsey stopped fighting.

"And that means…" the devil trailed off.

"We have a bit of their blood!" I finished. Lexi started muttering, and I think I caught her saying

"…We already act like them anyway, just a bit more mentally retarded…"

"Will we act like them forever?" Kelsey asked.

"I don't know," I replied. My eyes widened once again. "AHHH! I'M STARTING TO GET DUMBER! AND I HAVE A RANDOM CRAVING FOR CANDY!I'M ALREADY TURNING INTO BARREL!" Lexi rolled her eyes.

"You know, I think I like this switch," Kelsey commented.

"But I think we should find some way to get ourselves back," Lexi said. There was silence, and then we all shouted

"Dr. Finklestein!"

"But we have to call ourselves Lock, Shock, and Barrel, because I have no idea what time this is in," I said. The others agreed.

As we stated off toward the town, we heard a voice.

"Well, well, well. What have we here?" It asked. It stepped out onto the path in front of us. It was huge, like 10 feet tall. It leaned into the moonlight to get a better look at us. It was a giant burlap sack, with a mouth that reached to the sides of its face, and empty holes for eyes in which I could faintly see bugs crawling around in.

"You seem a little lost," he said in a mocking tone, "What are your names?"

We were too stunned to reply.

"No matter. I'm Oogie Boogie. Why don't you come along with me?" without waiting for an answer, he picked us up and carried us away, just off the path to a crooked tree, with a nearly as crooked hastily-built tree house resting in its branches.

"Wait here," was all he said, and without a sound, he disappeared.

Lexi, Kelsey, and I looked at each other. We turned our heads to gaze at the tree house.

"What the *censored* was that?" Kelsey asked. Lexis and I busted out laughing.

"I think this is before the movie," Lexi said.

"We should follow the plot of the movie," Kelsey stated. They both looked over at me.

"Are you okay?" Lexi asked. "You're eyes are glazed over." I sighed dreamily and commented,

"I just met Oogie Boogie!" I let out a fangirl squeal. My other cohorts just rolled their eyes and looked away.

Just then, Oogie appeared with 3 steaming bowls of toxic green soup.

"Try it," he said. "It's my all-time famous, snake and spider stew!" he gave us each a bowl. After a cautious spoonful, we slurped it up eagerly. I pointed to my ever grinning mouth as a way of saying "More please." Oogie laughed and picked me up to look at me at eye level.

"You're now my favourite, Chubs," he announced, and turned, and still carrying me, headed towards the tree. Without Oogie noticing, I stuck my tongue out at my comrades. They glowered; probably wanting to pick a fight after Oogie went away.

He set me down in front of the cage elevator, and asked us

"How would you like to work for me?" We looked at each other sceptically. "If you do a good job, I'll reward you with snake and spider stew," He bribed. That did it for us. We nodded with enthusiasm. "Good! Oh, what are your names again?"

We each looked at the other, and launched into the famous routine.

"Shock!"

"Lock!"

"Barrel!"

Oogie smiled.

"Okay, you guys can live up there, and I'll be down there. This is the only day I'm allowed out, so I'll call you if I need you. Oh, and you will call me Mr. Oogie Boogie. Understand?"

"Got it!" Lexi and I called out in unison as the three of us crammed into the cage. As it slowly rose, I asked

"Do you think Jack knows about us?"

"Of course he does," Lexi sneered. "We've been here long enough."

"How long have we been here?" Kelsey asked. Lexi frowned.

"I don't know," she replied.

"Whatever," I said.

As the cage rose; from the path, you could hear the sound of 3 kids singing.

'La la la la la la, la la la la, la la la la la la, la la la la la…"

In the shadows of the trees, a tall, dark figure lurked, spying on the three unaware children.

"It's time to do something about this," it murmured.


	3. Chapter 3 Kidnap the Sandy Claws

Life or… death; something like that; was enjoyable in HalloweenTown. We spent our days causing trouble and picking on the citizens. The three of us rarely got caught, but if we did, Jack Skellington would always give us a long, boring, lecture about rule-abiding, and working for Oogie Boogie. Every time he made us promise that we would stop serving him, but we always crossed our fingers behind our backs. Like what happened today.

Shock, Lock, and I were called to the town hall to help out with Jack's weird Christmas thing. We didn't bother waiting in line for our turn, we just threw our slime balls that we made earlier at them, and while they were distracted, we ran inside. While Jack was talking to Dr. Finklestein, we started throwing anything we could get our hands on at the Mayor. His face turned to the sad side and he growled at us.

"What are YOU doing here?!" he asked us, cringing.

"Jack sent for us," Lock said, running up.

"Specifically," Shock added.

"By name," I finished. We launched into the famous routine.

"Lock!" he shouted, taking off his mask.

"Shock!" she said, taking off hers as well.

"Barrel!" I exclaimed, took off my mask, and licked my favourite flavour lollipop: candy corn! The mayor turned around and spoke into the megaphone, where we could hear him clearly, and said,

"Jack! It's Boogie's Boys!" Jack crouched down to look at us at… near eye level and spoke

"Ah! HalloweenTown's finest trick-or-treaters! The job I have for you is top secret!" He drew us closer. He slapped his fist down upon his hand and pointed to his skull while he said "It requires craft, and cunning! Mysterryyyyy….."

Shock wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me. Lock clasped his hands together and brought them up to the side of his head, which was cocked to one side.

"And we thought you didn't like us, Jack," she said. The three of us giggled. She released her arms from their grip.

"Absolutely no one is to hear about this, not a soul!" He , pointing at each of us in turn. He drew us closer, and started whispering our plan.

"Okay, I want you three to get Sandy Claws from ChristmasTown and bring him back here unharmed. The doors are located in the Hinterlands in a small ring of trees." Lock turned away. I was about to follow him, but Jack grabbed Lock's tail and pulled him back. "Leave that no account Oogie Boogie OUT OF THIS!"

"Whatever you say, Jack," I said, following my cohort's lead by putting on my mask.

"Of course, Jack," Shock added, doing a mock bow.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Jack," Lock snickered. We all started laughing again, our fingers crossed behind our backs. We raised our hands as a goodbye as we left for Oogie's manor.

The walk there was uneventful, and nobody talked. We all had out thoughts on the task that Jack gave us. I felt like I knew this Christmas thing. _But that can't be_, I thought, _I haven't even heard of Christmas until now….. Or have I?_ I cast that thought aside, for we had arrived at the cage elevator.

"Kidnap Mr. Sandy Claws?" we asked each other excitedly.

"I wanna do it!" Lock exclaimed.

"Let's draw straws!" I suggested, holding up very short bones. Shock hit me with her mask.

"Jack said we should work together!" She said.

"Three of a kind!" I shouted, catching on.

"Birds of a feather!" Lock added.

"Now and forever!" We all cried out. Shock closed the cage and it started to lift us up to our dimly lit playhouse.

_All three: _Kidnap the Sandy Claws, lock him up and tie it, throw away the key and then turn off all the lights.

_Shock:_ First we're going to set some bait inside a nasty trap and wait; when he comes a-sniffing we will snap the trap and close the gate!

_Lock:_ Wait I've got a better plan to catch this big red lobster man, let's pop him in a boiling pot, and when he's done, we'll butter him up!

_All three:_ Kidnap the Sandy Claws, throw him in a box, bury him for ninety years,  
then see if he talks

_Shock:_ Then Mr. Oogie Boogie man

_Lock and Shock:_ Can take the whole thing over then

_Lock and Barrel:_ He'll be so pleased, I do declare

_All three:_ That he will cook him rare!  
Wheeee!

We could hear the excited cry of the Boogieman as he sniffed out his meal. He sucked in the bug, and the cage, with one breath.

_Lock:_ I say that we take a cannon, aim it at his door and then, knock three times and when he answers, Sandy Claws will be no more!

_Shock_: You're so stupid, think now if we blow him up into smithereens, we may lose some pieces  
Lock and Shock: And then Jack will beat us black and green

All three: Kidnap the Sandy Claws, tie him in a bag, throw him in the ocean then see if he is sad

_Lock and Shock:_ Because Mr. Oogie Boogie is the meanest guy around. If I were on his Boogie list, I'd get out of town

_Barrel:_ He'll be so pleased by our success, that he'll reward us too, I bet

_Lock and Barrel:_ Perhaps he'll make his special brew

_All three:_ Of snake and spider stew! Mmmm! We're his little henchmen and we take our job with pride; we do our best to please him, and stay on his good side!

_Shock:_ I wish my cohorts weren't so dumb

_Barrel:_ I'm not the dumb one

_Lock_: You're no fun

_Shock:_ Shut up!

_Lock:_ Make me!

_Shock:_ I've got something, listen now, This one is real good, you'll see! We'll send a present to his door, upon there'll be a note to read. Now, in the box we'll wait and hide until his curiosity

_All three:_ Entices him to look inside, and then we'll have him one, two, three!  
Kidnap the Sandy Claws, beat him with a stick, lock him for ninety years, see what makes him tick, kidnap the Sandy Claws, chop him into bits, Mr. Oogie Boogie is sure to get his kicks, kidnap the Sandy Claws, see what we will see, lock him in a cage and then throw away the key!

Our laughter rang out through the air as we set in our walking bathtub for the ring of trees, Sandy Claw's fate in our hands.


	4. Chapter 4 Christmas Town Or is it?

Even though I was the driver of the bathtub, it really didn't need steering this time; it already knew the way. This quiet time let me pay attention to the thing that was nagging at my memory.

I felt like I didn't belong in HalloweenTown, but that couldn't be, because I've been here all my…Life? It kept telling me that I should remember something, but as hard as I try, I can't. Something felt very wrong, I just didn't know what.

We came to a sudden halt at the ring of trees. The three of us hopped out and gazed at all the different doors.

"I think it's that one!" Lock exclaimed, pointing at the colourful oval door.

"No, you idiot, it's this one!" Shock countered, patting one shaped like a tree.

"No it isn't!"

"Yes it is!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No it isn't!"

"Yes…it…is!" Shock tackled Lock to the ground, and they both started fighting. I just stood there, watching them fight.

"Umm... Can't we try that one?" I asked timidly, spotting a green one.

"NO!" Lock and Shock shouted in unison, each one holding the other around their necks.

"Okay…. Then let's try that one!" I pointed to the oval door.

"Ha!" Lock said, "It's two against one! Plus I'm the leader, so we have to go in there anyway."

"Whatever," Shock muttered as we opened the oval door. We jumped in, and found ourselves in a strange land.

We were standing in a large clearing, with forest all around us. A path led through the forest to a town, way off in the distance. We grabbed our trick-or-treating bag, and headed towards the town. The three of us walked through the gates, and gazed in wonder at all the different things going on.

Small birds were running around with baskets filled with colourful eggs. There were lots of pastel colours everywhere, even covering the cobblestone path we were walking on. Pinks, blues, yellows, whites, and greens were everywhere. What really caught our eyes was the largest building of them all, a very twisted structure that didn't seem to hold itself up, but it managed to defy gravity and do it anyway.

We quietly snuck inside. The main hall was empty, but it had a spiral staircase leading all the way up to the top. Doors were every few feet away, following the trail of stairs. The three of us rushed up to the top, where there was a big pink door. We got our bag ready and knocked. The person who opened it was a giant pink rabbit. We covered it with our bag and tied it.

Lock, Shock, and I grabbed the bag and raced out of the building, through the gates, and down the trail to the doors. We wrenched open the door with the pumpkin on it, and jumped. We hauled the bag into the tub, and started off toward the town.

"Jack! Jack! We got him! We got him!" We shouted out in excitement as soon as we got back to the Great Hall.

"Perfect!" He answered. "Open it up, open it up!" Lock untied the knot, and something very pink leaped out of it. It was large, with long ears, and it was carrying a basket filled with the colourful eggs. It had a sash around it that read "Happy Easter"

"That's not Sandy Claws!" Jack exclaimed.

"It's not?" Shock asked, very confused.

"Who is it?" I questioned. The pink thing hopped up to the stage where Behemoth was. It sniffed the air in front of it.

"Bunny!" Behemoth said, and the bunny jumped back into the bag where it shook with fright.

"Not Sandy Claws," Jack replied, "Take him back!"

"We followed your instructions," Lock protested.

"We went through the door!" I added.

"Which door?" Jack asked, getting very irritated. "There's more than one! Sandy Claws is behind the door shaped like this!" He held out a cookie in the shape of a tree.

"I told you!" Shock snapped. She started strangling Lock, and the devil's face turned purple from lack of air. Not to save Lock or anything, I took a swing at Shock, and she fell over. But the punch had more power than I expected, so I lost my balance and fell over too. Lock got up and jumped on Shock, trying to get her back. And before I knew it, I saw this big, scary face that Jack made; he pulled down his jaw, and made a creepy noise. Lock and I hid behind Shock, with Shock's arms out in front of us. Jack backed up to talk to the bunny in the bag.

"I'm very sorry for the inconvenience, sir," he apologized. Then he turned to us, with a harsher tone: "Take HIM home, first. And apologize again. Be careful with Sandy Claws when you fetch him. Treat him nicely."

"Got it," Lock sighed.

"We'll get it right…" Shock said.

"…Next time!" Lock and I added as we headed out the door.

We arrived at the holiday doors yet again. We grabbed our bag and went through the right door. It was covered in the stuff Jack calls snow.

"This snow stuff is cold!" Shock commented.

"This whole place is cold," I muttered. The snow felt familiar to me, as if I had been in it in another world. The decorations on all the buildings also triggered something. I didn't mention it to the others, though; for I thought it was stupid, and if it was, then I would get made fun of by Lock and Shock.

We had arrived at Sandy Claws' house. We rung the doorbell and waited. Sure enough, someone in a red suit answered the door.

"Trick or treat!" We shouted in unison. The three of us only saw his confused face for a second before we tied him up in our bag. Dragging him back to the Hinterlands was hard work. It was slow going, especially with him protesting and talking nonstop.

"Hurry!" I said.

"Well, it's hard, he's so heavy!" Shock complained. A while later, we arrived back in HalloweenTown; where everyone was standing in the street.

"We got him!" Shock yelled.

"This time, we REALLY did!" Lock exclaimed in excitement.

"He sure is big, Jack!" I said.

"And heavy!" Shock added.

"Let me out!" Sandy Claws yelled as we untied the bag. The whole crowd gasped.

"Sandy Claws," Jack whispered, "in person! What a pleasure to meet you!" He took Sandy's hand to shake it. "Why, you have hands! You don't have claws at all!"

"Where am I?" Sandy asked. Oblivious to Sandy's distress, and his question, Jack said

"Surprised, aren't you? I knew you would be. You don't have to worry about Christmas this year. Consider this a vacation, Sandy. It's your turn to take it easy!"

"B-but there must be some mistake!" Sandy protested.

"See that he's comfortable," Jack instructed us as we started to close the bag. "Oh! Just a second, fellas!" Jack studied the holiday leader for a bit. "Of course! That's what I'm missing!" the skeleton took Sandy's hat. "Thanks."

"You just can't"- Sandy started. We closed the bag. "Hold on!" his muffled voice said from the bag. "Where are we going now?" We continued down through the gates. Sandy continued his blabbering. "Me? Vacation? On Christmas Eve?"

"Where are we taking him?" I asked.

"To Oogie Boogie's, of course!" Lock answered. "There isn't anywhere else in the whole world more comfortable than that! And Jack did say to make him comfortable, didn't he?"

"Yes, he did!" Shock and I replied.

"Haven't you heard peace on Earth? And goodwill towards men?" Sandy Claws asked.

"NO!" The three of us replied rudely, and laughed. We continued on our way to Oogie's mansion, taking the helpless Sandy Claws with us.


	5. Chapter 5 All is Not Well Just Yet

"Don't do this! Naughty children don't get any PRESENTS!" Sandy exclaimed as the bathtub walked up to the pipe. We laughed gleefully at the sight of his head zoom into the pipe.

"I think he's too big!" Shock exclaimed. We were pushing him down with Shock's broom, Lock's plunger, and my pitchfork.

"No he's not!" Lock countered, "If he can fit down a chimney, he can fit, down, here!" With one last shove, Sandy Claws went entirely down the pipe. We stood by the entrance to the pipe, listening. We heard Oogie Boogie sing his song, and then all was quiet. We couldn't see anything down the pipe, nor could we hear anything.

"What's happening, WHAT'S HAPPENING!?" Shock yelled. An idea suddenly hit me. I pointed to the cage elevator that hung in the corner.

"Let's go down…" Shock started.

"…And take…" Lock added.

"…A peek!" I finished. We rushed around the playhouse, looking for drinks and candy. Lock and I ran into the cage with our arms full. Shock was getting popcorn, but was delayed by a bug trying to hide in the bag.

"Hurry, hurry!" I urged. We all got into the cage, and I lowered ourselves down toward a window. We could hear Oogie's laughing slowly come within earshot.

"You monster!" Sandy Claws exclaimed. We ate our snacks while listening to everything being said in the lair.

"This isn't over!" The ragdoll was saying, "Not by a long shot! You-you wait till Jack finds out about this!" Just then, the Mayor came along in his car, shouting

"The king of Halloween has been blown to smithereens. Skeleton Jack is now a pile of dust." Lock, Shock, and I looked at each other; we hopped around the cage chanting

"Pile of dust! Pile of dust! Skeleton Jack is a pile of dust!"

The ragdoll moaned.

"If Jack"- she was interrupted by Oogie Boogie.

"But he isn't… Ever!" He said. We looked up to find Jack on top of the cage. He shook the cage and made a scary face. His mouth was wide, in a creepy grin. His eye sockets were narrowed to slits, dark and penetrating. We gasped and jumped out of the cage. We ran to the gates of HalloweenTown. While the three of us caught our breath, the Mayor drove past in his car. Lock, Shock, and I looked at each other; we all knew what to do.

"Mayor! Mayor!" We shouted.

"What?" he answered quite sadly.

"Jack's not a pile of dust!" Lock exclaimed.

"He's at Oogie's lair!" I added.

"Really?" Mayor asked.

"Of course!" Shock replied.

"Hop in!"

We clambered into the car, and it started off towards the way we came. A little while later, we arrived at the manor. The Mayor took out a bone rope from the back, and we rushed to the window. The fight was over, and Jack and Sally were inside, talking.

"Jack!" the Mayor shouted. "Jack!"

"Here he is!" I said.

"Alive!" Lock added.

"Just like we said!" Shock declared.

"Grab a hold, my boy!" Mayor exclaimed. Jack and Sally held on to the rope. We pulled them up; by then it got crowded on the ledge.

But I sensed something was different. I hopped down to take a look at the burlap on the floor that once was Oogie.

"Where are you going?" Shock asked. I didn't answer. Lock and Shock hopped down as well to follow me.

"What are you doing?" Jack inquired from the ledge. Again, I didn't reply. I poked at the burlap.

"There's something here," I stated. Just then, the material stirred. We jumped back. The thing rose to its feet, and the burlap fell off. Standing there was none other than a weary, but very much alive, human girl.


	6. Chapter 6 The End

The girl shook some of the burlap from her shoulders. She had medium length dirty blond hair and grey eyes.

Suddenly, all the memories cam flooding back to me. The sleepover, the look-changing, the adventures in HalloweenTown. But more importantly, my friends. Who my friends really are, including this girl.

"Mika Bryker!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's my name, don't wear it out!" She responded. Jack, Sally, and the Mayor stood behind us, looking totally confused.

"Oh look, we're back to normal too," Lexi said. Kelsey and I looked down. Sure enough, we were back to normal, in the same clothes as the time we got here. I looked up and said

"Mika, when you went missing, the whole neighbourhood went on a search party. We couldn't find you, so we thought you were dead." My other two friends nodded to confirm it.

"No, I was here, plotting ways to overthrow Jack. But obviously, that never works," Mika replied.

"Hold on, here," Jack interrupted as he stepped up in front of us. "Are you guys saying that YOU are the real Lock, Shock, Barrel, and Oogie?"

"No," Kelsey answered, "We're saying that we switched bodies, thought we were the actual people, but we really weren't, and we've been living in Halloween ever since for about 5 years, I think."

"Okay," Jack said, "Now we know what's going on," he turned to face Mika. "I'm terribly sorry for the misunderstanding, and the fight."

"Don't worry about it, I thought I was Oogie, and I would've fought you anyway," Mika giggled. Jack turned back and clapped his hands once.

"Right, now we have to find the real Lock, Shock, Barrel, and Oogie."

"But do you even want to?" Lexi asked. "If you hate them so much, why do you want to bring them back?"

"Because if we didn't, the whole story would be messed up, and it might ruin Fate," a voice answered. Sally stepped up from in the shadows and smiled at us.

"Let Operation Find Lock, Shock, Barrel, And Oogie commence!" The Mayor cried. Everyone else rolled their eyes at the name.

"Oh, that reminds me," Jack said, "I'm sorry, what are your names?"

"Mika Bryker."

"Kelsey Chace."

"Lexis Dark."

"Sandy Harbrough."

"Hey, you and Sandy Claws have the same name!" Jack exclaimed.

"No, his name is SANTA. Hear that? SANTA. S-A-N-T-A." I tried to explain. But of course, Jack wasn't listening.

"How come you guys are still acting a bit like the person you switched bodies with?" the Mayor asked.

"Because they have a bit of their blood, and always will," Sally answered.

"So we're stuck like this forever," Lexi sighed.

"Now we have to put up with Mika wanting to gamble every second," I added.

"Hey!" Mika protested. "Not all the time!"

"Most of the time," Kelsey whispered.

"Are you coming?" Jack asked. We nodded and hurried up the bone rope out of the real Oogie's lair. The moon was still high in the sky, casting dim light through the trees. We walked on the path for a bit, glancing around for the group of missing fugitives. Except for that one time where Kelsey suggested we go right in to the forest, because she said it was the smartest idea, but I got angry that she called us stupid, so I punched her in the face, which started a full-out brawl. Jack had to scare us into submission; then he said we shouldn't go off the path, because that would get us lost, and we might never be able to get back.

We walked for a bit more, until Sally spotted something.

"Look, what's that?" She asked. There was a large, black shape lying just off the path. I went closer to inspect.

"It IS them!" I exclaimed, nudging Oogie a little with my foot. He stirred, which caused the Boogie's Boys to wake up as well.

"What happened?" he asked, standing up. "What's going on? Why are you here, Bone Head?"

"Yeah!" the three children chorused, "We want to know!" So then us humans, and Jack, launched into the story. When we finished, the moon hung a little lower in the sky.

"So that's what happened," Lock murmured, "I thought is was the apocalypse." Everyone stared at him.

"Cool!" Kelsey exclaimed.

"To get back, just follow that path, and you'll eventually arrive back in your world," Sally instructed.

"Got it," I said. Oogie had wandered back to his lair, shouting something insulting back at Jack, but it was too soft for me to hear. The Mayor climbed back into his car, with Sally right beside him. Lock, Shock, and Barrel scrambled to the roof, while Jack stood on the fender, gripping the top. They turned and waved at us as they drove away, shouting goodbye. We waved back and smiled sadly. Lexi, Kelsey, and I turned around and walked out of Halloween for the first time for the last time.

"That was fun," I said sadly. We were lounging in my living room, like to time had passed at all. It didn't. My parents were still gone, the end credits of the movie were still going, and I didn't like it.

"Maybe we can go back another time?" I suggested. Kelsey shook her head.

"I don't think that's possible," she replied. Mika and Lexi were on the couch, looking sad.

"Does anyone want to play cards?" Mika asked. I shook my head and looked out the window. There were no stars out, and the moon hung low in the sky. I could see a faint image of Jack and Sally kissing on Spiral Hill in front of the moon. Zero flew up into the sky, winked at me, and disappeared as a twinkling star in the blackness.


End file.
